Capital Equipment News December 2019

MARKET REVIEW – 2019

Gauteng this year. Mashika reports that Bell Equipment had some market share gains in the first half of the year. This was due to some of the relatively newer products in its offering that are still penetrating the market. “We found the third quarter more challenging due to the growing requirement for financing needed by the market. Even though there are many opportunities available, financial institutions are not bullish about this industry. Consequently, OEMs and dealers have to play both dealer and banker,” says Mashika. Marais says Pilot Crushtec managed to perform at a similar level in 2019 as it did in 2018, with slight levels of growth – mainly attributed to its cross-border sales into Africa. He notes that the domestic market has been challenging, forcing the business to be dynamic in its approach in order to sustain similar levels of activity experienced in previous years. “We have introduced many initiatives which add tremendous value to our clients, such as our industry first, 5-year/ 10 000- hour warranty, as well as remote monitoring systems for equipment in order to optimise plant operations, regular visits to site to optimise processes and an all-new modular range of products to make plant design, installation and commissioning easier and quicker than it’s ever been before,” says Marais. Key talking points There have been some key talking points during 2019. Marais says a huge area of focus for Pilot Crushtec during the year has been the development of its offering for the market and being dynamic in its approach to business practices. “Our focus has always been our clients’ operations and this continued to drive our internal discussions on how to grow our business. We focused a lot on assisting our client base with running their plants as efficiently as possible – whether that was through correct liner utilisation, optimising on materials handling solutions or plant improvements,” says Marais. According to Collard, many fleet operators are struggling to obtain finance for yellow metal equipment due to the decline in industries such as mining and construction. “Many large companies (previously seen as part of the Big Five) are facing serious financial difficulties, in some cases closing down completely,” says Collard. “The ‘Mafia’, which is more prevalent in the Cape and KZN regions, has placed many smaller plant hire and contracting companies in bad situations by burning their equipment and hijacking their sites,”

“There has been a growing bias towards non-premium or mid-tier products. With the market being under pressure customers are becoming more open-minded about trying new products and more cost-effective solutions. We expect the trend to gain momentum as the market remains under pressure and customers continue to seek ways to survive amid ongoing uncertainty.”

Duncan Mashika, MD Bell Equipment Sales Africa

“We have introduced many initiatives which add tremendous value to our clients, such as an industry-first, 5-year/ 10 000-hour warranty, as well as remote monitoring systems to optimise plant operations, regular visits to site to optimise processes and an all-new modular range of products to make plant design, installation and commissioning easier and quicker than it’s ever been before.”

Francois Marais, sales & marketing director at Pilot Crushtec International

“Many fleet operators are struggling to obtain finance for yellow metal equipment due to the decline in industries such as mining and construction. Many large companies (previously seen as part of the Big Five) are facing serious financial difficulties, in some cases closing down completely.”

Ross Collard, MD of HPE Africa

“With the MCV market continuing its double- digit growth and HCVs on the other hand declining by around 7%, it is a clear indication to us that customers are buying down into the smaller, and less expensive, vehicle segments. This is largely due to the prevailing challenging economic conditions in the country.”

Gert Swanepoel, MD of UD Trucks Southern Africa

TALKING POINTS

or we should be on our toes and ensure that we prepare for some tougher trading months ahead,” cautions Swanepoel. Showing resilience Despite the tough trading conditions, capital equipment suppliers remained resilient in the face of a tough trading environment. Collard says HPE Africa has maintained a positive financial performance despite difficult economic conditions. In fact, the company managed to move its head office to a larger and better equipped facility in Spartan,

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